For today's edition of Health Focus, we have been joined in the studio by Dr. Dorian Michaels, who is here to tell us about a group for people with diabetes.0:05
Dr. Michaels, thank you for coming along today.0:14
I'm keen to make more people aware of the group.0:19
So why did you feel it was necessary to set up the group?0:22
Could you give us a little background?0:25
The group was established a little under a year ago in response to a high demand for information from our patients.0:28
We were impressed by how many people wanted to understand their situation and manage it effectively.0:34
So we wanted to offer help.0:39
The drop in session seemed the most effective idea as patients could speak to healthcare professionals face to face.0:41
So it offers a very personal approach then?0:48
That was our aim and we certainly appear to be achieving it.0:51
People want to speak to people, not sit in front of the Internet all day.0:55
And what's more, sometimes they just want to get together with other people that share common problems.0:58
As a group they can compare their experiences.1:04
So these drop in sessions, I think people can meet at the local town hall once a week, is that right?1:08
Is there a typical order of events?1:17
There isn't really a typical evening, although things have become a lot more structured as times progressed.1:20
We found the best way to organize the meetings is to work from a suggestion box.1:26
We leave it in the meeting room each week and group members can use it to notify us of the topics they would like addressed.1:31
So the sessions are run by healthcare professionals but are very much governed by the members?1:38
We tailor the meetings according to the feedback we receive.1:45
For example, diet is very heavily linked with diabetes, so it was suggested that we offer cooking advice.1:48
It was very successful.1:55
And now on a monthly basis we have a session dedicated to recipe sharing and cooking techniques.1:56
We have a nutritionist from the local hospital who takes members favourite recipes and rewrites them in a form that is healthier for people with diabetes.2:02
She is very good at it and the group members think she's great.2:10
And it's always a lot of fun, which I think is important.2:17
We do use group sessions to address more scientific issues, but rather than lecturing patients all the time, we hold question and answer sessions to help explain new developments to our members.2:20
In the area of diabetes research.2:31
We try to be as informative and at the same time approachable as possible.2:34
We want our group members to be relaxed and enjoy the meetings.2:38
So do your meetings have specific age restrictions or can anyone come along?2:42
Oh, everyone's welcome, definitely.2:47
At the moment, all our group members are adults, but I think that's because adults are keen to learn about the disorder, as they have to look after themselves.2:50
We would like to see more children, but they are understandably less enthusiastic to learn about science and specialised cooking.2:58
But we do have some carers who come along on their behalf.3:05
And how do people find out about the group?3:09
Well, we put up notices around the hospital, but the most effective promotion of the meeting so far has been done by our enthusiastic members, who regularly produce leaflets and hand them out to local shops and businesses.3:12
They really do make a commendable effort on behalf of the group.3:25
And after seeing the success of our group, our hope is to set up a network of support groups throughout the country.3:28
That's great and I'm sure you'll get a good response from people out there.3:34
We wish you the best of luck and continued success.3:38
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